Self-propelling food mixture



United States atent 3,369,912 SELF-PROPELLING FQOD MHXTURE Samuel M.Livengood, Ossining, and Robert G. Werner, Syosset, N.Y., assignors toUnion Carbide Corporation, a corporation of New York No Drawing. FiledMar. 20, 1967, Ser. No. 624,149 2 Claims. (Cl. 993l89) ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE 1-chloroheptafiuoropropane is employed as a propellant for aself-propelling food mixture confined under pressure in anaerosol-dispensing container. The mixture consists of anaerosol-dispensable, foamable, edible food formulation and thepropellant,

This invention relates to self-propelling foamable food mixtures and isparticularly related to the use of l-chloroheptafluoropropane as anaerosol food propellant in such mixtures.

Nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide and mixtures thereof are well knOWnpropellants for aerosol-dispensable food formulations. A mixture of 85%by weight nitrous oxide and by weight carbon dioxide has been mostwidely used, primarily for whipped cream. The foamed food productsdispensed from aerosol containers with the aid of these conventionalpropellants have limited durability since the foam coarsens andcollapses within a relatively short time. This lack of durability is aserious disadvantage in cases of those products which are not intendedfor immediate consumption and are often prepared hours before beingserved or consumed, such as, for example, cake frostings.

US. 2,849,323 has disclosed the use of perfluorocyclobutane as asuitable propellant for food formulations since it is non-toxic,non-flammable in air, inert to water and non-corrosive to the metals ofthe aerosol-dispensing container. Although the use ofperfiuorocyclobutane and polyfluorocyclobutane is considerably moreadvantageous than the use of conventional aerosol propellants (N 0, COand mixtures thereof), they are considerably more expensive and it isfrequently desirable to employ a less expensive propellant or mixture ofpropellants.

U.S 2,952,547 discloses a self-propelling food mixture in which the mainpropellant is a cheap gas such as nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide andmixtures thereof and which produces products having better and moredurable foamed structure. The propellant disclosed in this patentconsists of a mixture of from about 47 to about 15 mole percent ofperfluorocyclobutane and from about 53 to about 85 mole percent of amember of the group consisting of nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide andmixtures of nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide. The disadvantage of suchpropellant system is that a two-step filling process is necessary, onefor the injection of perfluorocyclobutane (a liquefied gas) and theother for the injection of the compressed gases, i.e., carbon monoxideand/ or nitrogen.

It is thus an object of this invention to provide a selfpropelling foodmixture which contains a novel propellant or combination of propellants.It is also an object of this invention to provide a self-propelling foodmixture which contains a novel propellant or combination of propellantsand which produces products having better and more durable foamedstructure. It is a further object of this invention to provide a novelcomposition of matter.

The objects of this invention are accomplished by providing aself-propelling food mixture confined under pressure in anaerosol-dispensing container, said mixture consisting essentially of anaerosol-dispensable, foamable, edible food formulation and a propellantfor said food formulation. The propellant employed in this invention is1-chloroheptafluoropropane alone or, in some cases, in admixture withconventional propellants, i.e., nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide ormixtures thereof.

The self-propelling food mixtures of this invention may be prepared inthe conventional manner by charging an aerosol-dispensable containerwith an aerosol-dispensable and foamable, edible food formulation, thencharging said container under a pressure corresponding to about 40p.s.i.g. at 70 F. with the propellant. To dispense the food formulation,the valve of the container is opened to release the pressure whereby thecontents of the container are expelled under the pressure of thepropellant. It is preferable to shake the container to mix its contentprior to releasing the pressure.

The aerosol containers which can be employed are conventional in formand construction and are well known in the art.

1-chloroheptafluoropropane has a vapor pressure of approximately 47p.s.i.g. at 70 F. It is non-flammable in air, non-toxic, inert to waterand non-corrosive to the metals of the aerosol-dispensing containers.These properties are important for successful application of a compoundas an aerosol propellant.

The aerosol-dispensable food formulations of this invention include suchmaterials as dessert toppings, cake frostings and whipped creams. Ingeneral, the aerosol-dispensable food formulations with which thepresent invention is concerned are those designed to have a foamedstructure, that is, those self-propelling food formulations which ondischarge contain the propellant dispersed therein.

The propellant of this invention is ordinarily used in quantitiesproviding about 40 p.s.i.g. at about 7072 F. in the conventional aerosolcontainer. The quantity of 1-chloroheptafiuoropropane in the foodformulation 'will usually range from about 5% to about 10% by weight ofthe food formulation and will depend, in part, on the size of thecontainer, the ratio of the volume of the food formulation to the volumeof the container and on the particular food formulation, its viscosityand its foaming characteristics.

A mixture of heavy cream and l-chloroheptafluoropropane was tested as anaerosol-food formulation. The heavy cream was first charged to acontainer equipped with a standard flow valve similar to those now usedwith commerical aerosol whipped toppings. The container was thenpressurized with the propellant, i.e., l-chloroheptafiuoropropane sothat the relative concentrations of the propellant and heavy cream inthe mixture were 10% and by weight, respectively. The heavy cream whichwas ejected from the container showed satisfactory foam characteristicssimilar to aerosol whipped creams now on the market.

What is claimed is:

1. A self-propelling food mixture confined under pressure in anaerosol-dispensing container, said mixture consisting essentially of anaerosol-dispensable food and 1- chloroheptafluoropropane.

2. A self-propelling food mixture as in claim 1 wherein said1-chloroheptafluoropropane constitutes from about 5 weight percent toabout 10 weight percent of said mixture.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 9/1955 Richardson 252--305 4/1964Klavsner 252-305

